Picayune’s City Council discussed fixing a sinkhole in the Woods Subdivision, addressing blighted properties in the city and approved seeking bids for a natural gas replacement project.
Heavy rains that fell about a week ago caused a safety hazard on Angler Drive in The Woods Subdivision.
Public Works Director Eric Morris said the problem started on April 28, after the storm that passed through the city. A cave-in occurred along that road near the lake, which was determined to be the result of a failing culvert due to the water passing through it from the lake, Morris said.
The city was alerted to the problem just before 5 that evening. Morris said residents had already put up colored pool tubes in the sinkhole to alert other drivers about the safety hazard.
An inspection of the culvert early this week determined the culvert’s failure has made the road impassible. The road has been closed since the cave-in was reported last week.
The city is seeking bids to fix the problem. Morris said he hopes to have bids in by the end of this week, with work beginning early next week.
Weather permitting, the road could be reopened within a day or two of the work beginning, but in a worst-case scenario it could take three to five days. A rain event could delay the work even further, Morris said.
During a public hearing to discuss several blighted properties, a couple of community members expressed disdain for the city’s attempts to fix the situation. In each situation Code Enforcement Officer Tom Milar described the deplorable conditions of each property, most of which were in such a state of disrepair that it would be cheaper to tear the homes down than repair them. Most of the properties listed on the agenda were in the Goodyear Community off of Neal Road.
During that discussion, it was also discovered that a number of the properties listed on the agenda for the public hearing were improperly listed, according to E-911 records. Mayor Ed Pinero asked Fire Chief Keith Brown to work with the county’s E-911 office to correct the records to ensure emergency calls go to the correct address.
In other business the council:
— Accepted a grant from the MDOT Transportation Enhancement program to fund the Urban Youth Corps Program. Grant Administrator Christy Goss said the grant will provide 80 percent of the funding, while the city will provide the 20 percent match. These funds will support the city’s summer work program, which employs area youngsters.
— Approved advertising for the Geo Resources Gas Main Replacement project. City Engineer Brooks Wallace said the project will be funded with money left over from the initial cast iron gas line replacement project, entailing a bit more than $500,000. The project will replace as many lines as they can with the remaining funds.
The next City Council meeting will be May 17 at 5 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall.